Clothes rack



May 15, 1956 H. A. BLOMQUIST CLOTHES RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June '7, 1

INVENTOR HERBERT A BLOMQUIST ATTORNEYS y 15, 1956 H. A. BLOMQUIST 2,745,474

CLOTHES RACK Filed June 7, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 66 INVENTOR HERBERT A. BLOMQUIST 76 BY I ATTORNEYS CLOTHES RACK.

Herbert A. Blomquist, Washington, D. C.

Application June 7, 1950, Serial No. 166,678

4 Claims. or. 155-190 The present invention relates to a clothes rack of a type which is combined with a chair as an integral part thereof. A principal object of the invention is to provide such a clothes rack of low and compact design, which does not increase the size and particularly the height of the back of the chair with which it is associated.

It is an object of the invention to provide a clothes rack which will support both trousers and a suit coat in freely hanging unwrinkled condition, the design being such that no parts of the rack or associated chair in any way interfere with the free hanging of the articles of clothing on the rack.

The novel construction of rack and associated chair which I have devised, is characterized by the presence of an open space between the forward face of the rack and the rearward edge of the seat of the chair extending entirely across the rack forwardly of its back, and which is uninterrupted from the top of the back down to the feet thereof, whereby coat and trousers suspended on the rack may drape freely in this open space without being distortedin any way by interfering parts of the structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clothes rack of the type referred to, which is. of extremely simple construction and which may be manufactured with great economy. A particular object of the invention is to provide such a clothes rack and associated chair, the supporting parts of which are made out of the well known resilient flexible metal tubing presently available for the manufacture of kitchen, dinette, lounge, and restaurant furniture.

Because of the compact construction disclosed herein, and the provision in this article of furniture for the hanging of coats, trousers, and the like, it will be obvious that the clothes rack and chair will be found useful at camps, barracks, hotel rooms, state rooms on ships and trains, and in other similar places where a cheap, but attractive and sturdy article of furniture may be required, and particularly at places where space is at a premium, such as at the places mentioned above, and in efiiciency apartments and the like.

In the drawings, which illustrate two forms of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a combined clothes rack and chair constructed in accordance with the present invention, showing the manner in which the clothes may be supported on the back of the rack.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the rack and chair of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same rack and chair.

Fig. 4 is a partial vertical sectional view showing a manner of attachment of the seat and back rest to their supporting members, the view being taken along the line of 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a modification of the invention, wherein the back rest carried by the seat supportis omitted.

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of the construction of Fig. 5.

p r 2,745,474: Patented May 15, 1956 The back B is an open structure defined by spaced 7 side posts10, which are generally upright, although my design provides that the upper portions of the posts may be bent rearwardly to a slight angle, as at 11, if desired. The posts lll'terminate at their lower ends at feet 12 which are adapted to rest on the'fioor as is apparent from Figs. 1 and 2.

Extending across the top of the open back is a top bar- 14, which is shown in Figs." 1 and 2 as a coat form, and this bar is of such shape as to support the coat in its naturally draped and unwrinkled condition, as indicated in Fig. l. Spaced below the bar 14, is a second or trousers bar 16, which in Fig. 2, is in the form of a simple metal tube secured at its ends by welding, to the opposite surfaces of the spaced tubular metal posts 10. The bar 16 is spaced a sufficient distance below the bar 14, so that the trousers may be conveniently inserted through the openings between the bars and draped over the bar 16 in the manner indicated in Fig. 2.

I Arranged forwardly of the back Band formed as an integrally connected part thereof, there is a seat supporting structure S. In Fig. 2, this structupe is illustrated as comprising opposite front and rearlegs 18 and 20, and an intermediate substantially horizontal rail portion 22, the parts 18, 20 and 22 being bent from the same lengthof metal tubing, the lower ends of the legs 18 constituting the forward feet of the chair, while the lower ends of the portion 20 are suitably connected to the feet of the posts 10 as by welding at about the point 23. While the rail portion 22 is shownas being of substantial length, it will seat. In Figs. 1 and 2, the chair seat is shown at 24,

and it may simply be aboard with rounded edges, or an upholstered board of any kind, suitably secured to the rails 22 as by rivets or screws, or byany suitable form of clamps. The rearward leg 20 of the support S extends upwardly andforwardly as shown in Fig. 2, so that a relatively wide open space is left between this leg and the back B defined by the posts 10, whereby the trousers may hang freely as shown in Fig. 2, and the coat also may hang freely with its front panels extending in toward the center of the open space as illustrated in Fig. l.

The rear edge 26 of the chair seat 24 is spaced a sub stantial'distance forwardly of the back defined by its posts 10, and this edge is entirely separated and unattached to the back R either at the sides where the posts 10 are located or at the center, whereby the trousers may hang centrally over the bar 16 as shown in Fig. 2, and folded over said bar at-substantially the midpoint of their length, which is the usual custom. Likewise, the front panels of the coat may extend inwardly until they-join one another so that even a double breasted coat which buttons high up abnormal dimensions, in order to accommodate the hang-' ing coat an'd'trous'ers. The invention permits substantial Y reduction in the dimensions ordinarily employed in devices and a seat support space between the back and the chair and its support,

permits positioning of the trousers and coat in a relatively low position, yet no, parts of the. structure interfere With the free hanging of the garments,"nor with the, natural swinging: movement of the garments which. might occur when the article of furniture is used in trains, ships, or planes.

Ifhave foundthat a chair of ufseful d sign may have, a. back B of a height to the top of the, bar, 14: of approximately 35", and, with the top of, the bar 16, at about 24" from the floor, the top surface of the chair being in aplane about 17" from the floor. Insuch a designracoat worn by a relatively large adult Of length, of about 31; will freely hang in the. uninterrupted space forwardly, of the, back B as ShQWn'inEig. l, extendingalmostdownto the floor, but not touching the floor, and trousers of about- 40" in length may be suspended at, theirmidpoint as shownin Fig. 2, so that they hang; downwardly wellbelow the seat24. Thus, the vertical distance between the bar 16 and the, seat 24 is substantially less than one-half the length of an ordinary pair of trousers, Of course, the invention is not limited to use with-any particular dimensions of the parts, except that it will be understood that the invention avoids the disadvantagesoi suggested constructions of the prior art, wherein the back extends upwardly to an abnormal or excessive height above thechairseat, in order to accommodate the articles of apparel. In such prior art constructions, the space between the rearward edge of the chair seat and the front surface of the back is not completely uninterrupted as in the construc tions ofthe present invention.

In the construction of, Figs, 1 and 2, the upper bar 14 is shown inthe form of a clothes form, which may be suitably molded ofhard plastic, or consist of a form with upholstery thereon, this form having outwardly extending thickened, shoulder Supporting portions 30 and a central. thickened, upwardly extending and rearwardly rounded collar supporting portion 32, these portionsbeing joined by connecting portions 34 which taper outwardly as shown in Fig. 3, asfar as thickness is concerned, andwhose upper edges taper outwardly and downwardly as indicatedatiid in Fig. 2. This coat form may have substantially vertical.

sockets therein to fit downwardly over the upper ends of the posts 16, or if the posts are continuously joined at their upper ends by a cross integralconnecting bar, not shown, the. form may be suitably slotted throughout its length to fit, over the connected upper ends of the posts 10, and in either event, the form may be. secured onto the posts in any conventional manner as by concealed rivets, screws, or other suitable means. In more simple, constructions, the coat supporting form may comprise. an. integral connecting cross-piece joining the upper ends. of

. the posts 10, and which is bent in, any suitable way to provide the sidesupports for the. shoulders. of the coat, and the central support for the collar portion of the coat.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the support 8 also includes a back rest comprising spaced side upright metal tubes 40 and 42 which may be bent from a, single .piece oi'ltubular metal, joined by a cross-piece at the top, as at 4.4, and having an upholstered or plastic backrest panel 46 suitably secured across the .top at a proper positionto support the back of a person sitting on the seat 2 4. In the event that theadditional back rest just described is not used, in

the embodimentof Figs. 1 and 2 the bar 16, may take the form of a panel connected between the uprights 10, for instance as shown in the, embodiment ,of'Fig. 6, and; the upper end of this panel will be at substantially the same height as the upper end of the tubularbarld, as previously described.

It-will be understood that the parts described maybe connected together in anysuitable Way, using lengths off resilient tubular-metal. Referring toFigs. Z and 4; thecontiguous with and inside of the rail portions 22 of the "support S, and the portions 50 and" 22 are riveted or secured together in any other suitable way as by the rivets 52. The seat 24 rests on both of the portions 50 and 22, and may be riveted to either or both of them, as by the rivets 54.

It will be apparent from the above, that I have provided a clothes rack and chair of novel construction, wherein the chair is disposed forwardly of the clothes supporting back, but is integrally connected therewith to form a one piece article of furniture. The legs of theseat support are spaced forwardly ofthe back and its posts 10, and the legs 20 are connected with the feet portion 12 of'the back or its posts 10, leaving a free, uninterrupted space forwardly of the back in which the clothes may hang in unwrinkled condition as previously described.

Figs. Sand 6 disclose tne same general type of chair construction which omits the back rest, but thelegsZO and the rear ed'geZti off the seat 24 are spaced forwardly.

of the backor its posts it in, the manner and for the" suitably secured on the posts 10, and having an upper edge 63 which serves to suspend the trousers, in the same manner as described in connection with the simple tubular bar 16, except that the panel 58 serves as aback rest. Figs. Sand 6 also show a variation in the man: ner of connecting thelegs 2b with the posts iii). In this variation, legs 20 are disposed inwardly of the posts 10, as shown in Fig. 6, and they may be rigidly riveted to the feet portions of the posts It as at 62.

In the embodiment of Figs. 7 and8, the posts 64, the legs 66, the rails 68, and'the back rest supports 70] may all be formed of one continuous length of resilient tubular metal; The lower end of the posts 64 are bent as at 72 to form; feet which may contact with the floor at about the point 74, and there is a further upward bend in the length of pipe as at 76 just beyond point p This em: bodimen't is in'general similar to those previously dc '78 where, contact with the floor terminates.

their ends, in a manner which will now be understoodfrom previous description.

In this embodiment, for the purposes of simplicity thc top bar 86 of the back may be bent in a suitable manner to provide the coat form. The most simple variationot;

such an arrangement would be to provide the upwardly, and

rearwardly extending bend 90 to support the collar portion of the coat, and the bends 92 may extend outwardly and rearwardly, as necessary, to support the coat atits shoulder portions. Of course, in a particular case where the chair is wide enough to provide adequate support for,

a coat, outwardly protruding bends at the points 92 might be dispensed with, but when the chair is relatively narrow, ascompared with the width of a coat, the coat form portion should extend outwardly a sufiicient distance to backrest includes horizontaLmembers- 50=which are/bent at; right; angles: from the; portions 40,2 and which. extend support the shoulders, as described in connection with Fig. 3; i

In this embodiment, as in those previously described,

there is a second'or trouser bar 94 disposed betweenthe posts 64* as shown in Fig. 7. Similarly, if the back rest comprising the portions 76 and the cross-piece 84 is to be dispensed with, as in the Fig.5 embodiment, the tubular metal section may terminate atabout the point 96,

and the rail portion 68 may then be transverselyceunected-by a separate pipe extending between these rail portions at the point 96, or the rigidity of the connected seat may be relied upon to provide sufficient strength. It will be understood that such a construction is possible, using the now well known resilient tubular metal for the parts referred to, this material being capable of sustaining the weight of a person, by reason of its strength and resiliency, even though not supported at all terminal points. In the event that the back rest is dispensed with, the back supporting panel may be substituted for the bar 94, in the manner disclosed in connection with "the embodiment of Fig. 6.

While it is intended that the rack and chair described be as simple as possible, for the uses suggested above, it will be understood that the constructions shown may be modified to provide additional auxiliary features, such as, for instance, the provision of side arm rests either connected with the chair seat, or with the supporting structure S.

I claim:

1. In a clothes rack, a back comprising a pair of spaced upright posts terminating at their lower ends in feet, a top bar connected between the upper ends of said posts, said top bar being shaped to support the shoulders and neck of a suit coat, a second trouser supporting bar connected between said posts and spaced below said top bar leaving a sutlicient open space between said bars for the convenient draping of trousers over said second bar, opposed seat supporting members each integrally joined with one of said posts adjacent said feet, said members including upwardly extending portions spaced forwardly from said posts and substantially horizontal rail portions and having front feet portions positioned to contact the floor at a substantial distance forwardly of said posts, a chair seat carried between the rail portions of said members, said seat being entirely detached from said back posts and having a rearward edge spaced forwardly there from providing an uninterrupted open space between said back and said seat and its supporting members which extends entirely across the rack and downwardly from said bars substantially to the feet of said posts, whereby the front panels of a suit coat and the trousers may hang in unwrinkled condition in this space when suspended from said bars, and a back rest connected with said rail portions and extending upwardly from the rearward edge of said seat, said back rest likewise being spaced forwardly of and detached from said posts leaving the open uninterrupted space for suspending the coat and trousers.

2. In a clothes rack, an upright open back terminating at its lower end in feet which rest on the floor, a seat support integrally connected with said back adjacent said feet and extending forwardly therefrom, a coat form mounted on the top of said back and a trouser bar extending across said back spaced below said coat form and above said seat a distance less than one-half the length of the trousers of a man of average height, a seat carried by said support, the rearward edge of said seat and said support being spaced forwardly from said back leaving an open uninterrupted space for the front panels of the coat and the trousers forwardly of said back and extending entirely across said rack and downwardly from said bar substantially to said feet, and a back rest mounted on said seat support extending upwardly therefrom in spaced relationship forwardly of said back without interrupting the space forwardly of said back for the coat and trousers.

3. In a clothes rack, an upright open back terminating at its lower end in feet which rest on the floor, a seat support integrally connected with said back adjacent said feet and extending forwardly therefrom, a coat form mounted on the top of said back and a trouser bar extending across said back spaced below said coat form and above said seat a distance less than one-half the length of the trousers of a man of average height, a seat carried by said support, the rearward edge of said seat and said support being spaced forwardly from said back leaving an open uninterrupted space for the front panels of the coat and the trousers forwardly of said back and extending entirely across said rack and downwardly from said bar substantially to said feet, and a back rest mounted on said seat support extending upwardly therefrom in spaced relation forwardly of said back without interrupting the space forwardly of said bank for the coat and trousers, said back rest comprising an open frame including a cross-piece which is positioned at an elevation below that of said coat form.

4. In a clothes rack, an upright open back terminating at its lower end in feet which rest on the floor, a seat support integrally connected with said back adjacent said feet and extending forwardly therefrom, a coat form mounted on the top of said back and a trouser ba'r extending across said back spaced below said coat form and abovesaid seat a distance less than one-half the length of the trousers of a man of average height, a seat carried by said support, the rearward edge of said seat and said support being spaced forwardly from said back leaving an open uninterrupted space for the front panels of the coat and the trousers forwardly of said back and extending entirely across said rack and downwardly from said bar substantially to said feet, and a back rest mounted on said seat support extending upwardly therefrom in spaced relation forwardly of said back without interrupting the space forwardly of said back for the coat and trousers, said back rest comprising an open frame including a cross-piece which is positioned at an elevation below said coat form and above said trouser bar.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

